Dez Bryant looked like his normal dominant self in his limited work against the Oakland Raiders, taking three catches for 55 yards, but one play stood out from the rest. It was just a quick and innocent pass from Tony Romo that should have Cowboys fans so excited. Here’s why.

On a first-and-10 at their own 47-yard line, the Cowboys lined up in “Tight End Trips Right” with Bryant isolated on the left side of the formation. Dallas lined up in “Tight End Trips” on 59 plays in 2012—right around four per game—passing the ball on only 17 of those snaps. It’s the one spread formation from which they really like to run the ball, as they planned to do on this play.

The Raiders were in an unusual alignment because cornerback Mike Jenkins (top) was lined up 10 yards off of Miles Austin and actually sunk back farther before the snap, yet cornerback Tracy Porter was less than five yards off of Bryant. The reason was that Porter was supposed to blitz on the play.

As you can see below, Porter started to blitz as Romo took the snap. With Bryant slanting in, Romo pumped but pulled back when he saw Porter. The cornerback actually stopped rushing when he recognized that Romo was throwing the ball to Bryant.

The play might have looked like a busted slant, but it was actually a run. You can see Jason Witten stayed in-line to block and the other receivers both jogged out leisurely to block the defenders lined up over them. DeMarco Murray hesitated behind the line-of-scrimmage, indicating that this was a designed draw.

When Romo decided to forgo the handoff and throw to Bryant, he was executing what is known as a “sight adjustment.” On many running plays, quarterbacks have the freedom to pull up and immediately hit a receiver—typically on a slant or quick screen—if they see something that suggests a pass will be successful.

It’s pretty standard, but something about this play really stands out: Romo didn’t decide to throw the football until after the snap. Typically, the quarterback makes that determination before the snap. But even with the odd coverage, I don’t think there’s any way that Romo could have anticipated Porter blitzing. The cornerback did nothing to show it; you can see him lined up well off of the ball in a traditional position just before the snap in the first image.

That means that not only was this a designed run, but Romo even took the snap thinking he would hand off the ball to Murray. Since a draw play was called, Romo has the time to hesitate and look at Bryant before (usually) giving the ball to Murray. Romo saw Porter blitzing, however, meaning the sight adjustment came post-snap.

When Porter stopped rushing, Romo pumped and hit a streaking Bryant who had snuck behind Porter on what looked like a traditional “sluggo” route—a slant-and-go—but it was really a blown sight adjustment.

So why is this “blown” play so awesome? Three reasons. First, it shows the Cowboys have options built into plays post-snap. We all know about their “Kill” audible system through which Romo can change plays at the line, but that doesn’t help the team if the defense does something unexpected after the snap. I feel confident in saying that last year, this play would have resulted in a handoff to Murray. In 2013, the additional post-snap options allowed for a big completion to Bryant. That’s a major shift in the offense.

The second reason this play is a great sign is that it shows a next-level sort of chemistry between Romo and Bryant. When Porter stopped blitzing because he saw the sight adjustment, Bryant really should have continued to fight through the defender on his slant. If Romo had thrown the ball right away, it would have been six points the other way. It’s a huge positive that both Romo and Bryant recognized what was happening and adjusted on the fly.

Third, if you want the Cowboys to improve their rushing efficiency, which we all do, what better way than to have post-snap options built into plays? Dallas can’t run read-option in the same way as a team like the Redskins, but this is really a “pro style” form of read-option. If Romo can read defenses after the snap to inform his decision on whether he should pull up to pass or hand off the ball, it will end up aiding both passing and rushing efficiency in a big way.

Either way, this simple play should have you really excited to watch the Cowboys’ offense in 2013.

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